This invention is directed to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a transmission medium, a transmitting method and an image format, and especially directed to an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a transmission medium, a transmitting method and an image format which make it possible to alleviate the deterioration of image quality of a dynamic image.
Heretofore, interlace scanning is known as a scanning method for displaying a dynamic image.
That is, for instance, in the case where an image is shot by means of a video camera, etc., in essence, it is ideal, in terms of the image quality and the resolution, to compose each frame with pixels having the same arrangement as the pixels (represented by ◯ marks, in FIG. 1) of the built-in photo-electric conversion element such as a CCD (charge coupled device) as shown in FIG. 1, and to perform transmission and recording of it.
However, this requires that large amount of information is transmitted and recorded. So, in order to lessen the amount of information, image is composed in such a manner that the first picture frame (the first field, in the case of interlace scanning) is comprised of only the pixels (represented by ◯ marks, in the same figure) of the even-numbered lines, negating the pixels (represented by xe2x97xaf marks, in the same figure) of the odd-numbered lines, and the next picture frame is comprised of only the pixels (represented by xe2x97xaf marks, in the same figure) of the odd-numbered lines, negating the pixels (represented by ◯ marks, in the same figure) of the even-numbered lines, and the succeeding picture frame is composed in the same way as the first picture frame; and these process are repeated in the following, as shown in FIG. 2.
For convenience, such a thinning method is referred to as interlace thinning, since interlace scanning can be considered to be one of methods for thinning the pixels for the purpose of reduction of the amount of information as known from the above.
By the way, the resolution of image in the vertical direction is depends on the number of the lines. Therefore, when interlace thinning has been performed, the vertical resolution of the thinned image becomes to xc2xd of the vertical resolution of the image that is not yet subjected to thinning out. As a result of this, it becomes difficult to represent fast changes of the image in vertical direction, and so there is a problem that if such fast movements exist, the image quality is deteriorated.
Considering such an aspect, the present invention provides an image processing apparatus, an image processing method, a transmission medium, a record medium, and an image format which are able to alleviate the deterioration of the image quality that emerges from thinning out.
The image processing apparatus and method of the present invention for processing an image data that composes a dynamic image is characterized by thinning the picture elements (pixels) of the respective frames that compose the dynamic image, in such a manner that they become a chessboard-like lattice format in both directions of the spatial direction and the temporal direction, thereby producing a thinned image data, and then outputting the thinned image data. Besides, the image processing apparatus and method of the present invention is further characterized by performing bit-thinning of the direction of the level of each pixel that composes the thinned image data, thereby producing a modified thinned image data, and then outputting the modified thinned image data.
The transmitting method and the transmission medium of the present invention for transmitting the data that has been produced by thinning the pixels of the image data that composes a dynamic image is characterized by thinning the pixels of the respective frames that compose the dynamic image, in such a manner that they become a chessboard-like lattice format in both directions of the spatial direction and the temporal direction, thereby producing a thinned image data, and then transmitting the thinned image data. Besides, the transmitting method and the transmission medium of the present invention is further characterized by performing bit-thinning of the direction of the level of each of the pixels that compose the thinned image data, thereby producing a modified thinned image data, and then transmitting the modified thinned image data as the transmission data.
The image format of composing a dynamic image according to the present invention is characterized by that the pixels of the respective frames composing a dynamic image have been thinned, in such a manner that they have become a chessboard-like lattice format in both directions of the spatial direction and the temporal direction. Furthermore, the image format according to the present invention is characterized by that bit-thinning of the direction of the level of each pixel is performed, with respect to the pixels of the data of which thinning have been performed for each frame.
The image processing apparatus according to the present invention for processing the thinned data that has been produced by thinning the pixels of the image data composing a dynamic image comprises: a receiving means for receiving the thinned image data that has been produced by thinning the pixels of the respective frames that compose the dynamic image, in such a manner that they become a chessboard-like lattice format in both directions of the spatial direction and the temporal direction; and a restoring means for producing the negated pixels, with respect to the thinned image data, and for restoring the original image data.
Besides, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by that the restoring means is comprised of a determining means for determining a stated class that represents the property of the attentional negated pixel of the thinned image data, and a generating means for predicting the original pixel in response to the determined class and for generating the original pixel data.
Besides, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by that the generating means includes a memory for storing a predictive data, for each class, that has been previously produced for each class on the basis of learning by the use of the image data that composes a dynamic image in a standard manner, reads out a predictive data that corresponds to said determined class, and generates the original pixel data on the basis of the predictive data that has been read out.
The image processing apparatus according to the present invention for processing the thinned data that has been produced by thinning the pixels of the image data composing a dynamic image comprises: a receiving means for receiving the modified thinned image data that has been obtained by further performing bit-thinning of the direction of the level of the pixel, toward each pixel of the thinned image data that has been produced by thinning the pixels of the respective frames that compose the dynamic image for each frame, in such a manner that they become a chessboard-like lattice format in both directions of the spatial direction and the temporal direction; and a restoring means for producing the original pixel with respect to each bit-thinned pixel of the modified thinned image data, thereby producing the thinned image data, and for restoring the original image data from the thinned pixels of the thinned image data.
Besides, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by that the restoring means is comprised of a first determining means for determining a stated class that represents the property of the attentional bit-thinned pixel of the bit-thinned image data, a first generating means for predicting the original pixel in response to the determined class and thereby generating the original pixel data, a second determining means for determining a stated class that represents the property of the attentional negated pixel of the thinned image data that is composed of said pixel data generated by the first generating means, and a second generating means for predicting the original pixel in response to the determined class and for generating the original pixel data.
Besides, the image processing apparatus according to the present invention is characterized by that the first generating means includes a memory for storing a predictive data, for each class, that has been previously produced for each class on the basis of learning by the use of the image data that composes a dynamic image in a standard manner, reads out the predictive data that corresponds to the class that has been determined by said first determining means, and generates the original pixel data on the basis of the very predictive data that has been read out, and each of the second-generating means includes a memory for storing a predictive data, for each class, that has been previously produced for each class on the basis of learning by the use of the image data that composes a dynamic image in a standard manner, reads out the predictive data that corresponds to the class that has been determined by said second determining means, and generates the original pixel data on the basis of the very predictive data that has been read out.